Journey to South Africa – Day 5, November 17 – Plettenberg Bay

After a year of hard work and many late, sleep deprived nights, it’s nice to enjoy some peaceful [and coherent] morning time.  Right here, in this moment at Fynbos, I’m completely relaxed.  No phone, no TV, no outside world.  It’s 7am, the sun is peeking behind cotton ball clouds and the air is chilly, somewhere around 65F.  South Africans go by Celsius, so approximately 18C in their terms.   It’s just me, my coffee and the birds.  Fynbos has tons of different birds and listening with no distractions you can pick up on how they communicate with each other.

Two hours later, the sun is full in the sky.  The temperature has easily risen 15 or so degrees.  The South African sun is strong, even more so than what I’m used to in California.  Already I can feel my arms starting to bake but that doesn’t scare me away from a swim.

A short walk through a wooded pathway leads you to the pool that overlooks a spectacular view of the mountains.  It’s 360 degrees of lush flora.  It’s totally secluded up here and sort of feels like a fairy tale.  Happy to have the place to myself, I spent the next two hours lounging and dipping in the turquoise water.

Nick and I have been craving some good seafood so in the afternoon we head over to Robberg Fine Foods.  We pick out 12 crayfish tails (South Africa’s version of lobster but smaller), Snook fish, shrimp, and all the necessary fixings from yummy local butter to a fresh garlic bulb.  And of course several more bottles of our new favorite Sauvignon Blanc.

Now to give you an idea of local currency and how much you can get for your American dollar right now – everything we bought cost approximately 900 rand.  Thats $65 dollars.  Pretty incredible, right?!  Needless to say, we’ve been eating and drinking like kings.